Spencer Ririe
Partner
Spencer Ririe is an intellectual property litigator with nearly 20 years of experience representing clients in high-stakes litigation. Prior to joining the firm, he practiced at Sidley Austin, Gibson Dunn, and at his own boutique law firm Mangum Ririe.
With a strong engineering background, Spencer litigates disputes covering a wide spectrum of technologies in federal district court. His wins include a $184 million jury verdict for Cornell University on microprocessor technology, a $248 million settlement and public apology for Nippon Steel in an international and multi-jurisdictional patent and trade secret dispute, and a defense jury verdict of non-infringement and invalidity for T-Mobile defeating claims by a patent licensing entity.
Spencer has also litigated disputes at the U.S. Patent Office’s Patent Trial and Appeal Board and the U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington, D.C.
A registered patent attorney, Spencer has counseled clients on a diverse range of domestic and international IP issues, including patent opinion letters, freedom-to-operate analyses, and patent portfolio strategy.
Clerkship
Judicial intern to the Honorable Richard Linn, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, Washington, D.C. (2003)
Education
J.D., with high honors, Order of the Coif, The George Washington University Law School
B.S., chemical engineering, Brigham Young University
Representative Cases
Cornell University v. Hewlett-Packard, No. 01-cv-01974 (N.D.N.Y.): secured a $184 million jury verdict for Cornell University for infringement of its pioneering patent for out-of-order instruction issuance in microprocessors.
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal v. POSCO, No. 12-cv-02429 (D.N.J.): represented plaintiff in a complex multi-jurisdictional international patent and trade secret dispute with a rival steelmaker that resulted in a public apology and $248 million settlement.
EON Corp. IP Holdings v. T-Mobile USA, No. 10-cv-00379 (E.D. Tex.): successfully defended T-Mobile against a non-practicing patent-licensing entity, resulting in a complete jury verdict of non-infringement and invalidity.
Media, Speaking Engagements and Publications
How to Be An Effective Chemical Engineering Expert in IP Lawsuits, Chemical Engineering Progress (American Institute of Chemical Engineers) (June 2025)
Professional Affiliations
President, Howard T. Markey Intellectual Property Inn of Court
American Institute of Chemical Engineers
Admissions
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit
U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of California
U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California
U.S. District Court for the Southern District of California
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas
U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
State of California